Ketchikan needs economic development and a vision for the future.
That’s what developing 297 acres of borough property along Revilla Road near Ward Cove would be.
Ward Cove Group, a company owned and operated by the David Spokely family, has come up with a proposal for the property.
The proposal is to study the property’s potential for development, which ultimately could include a community, with condos, townhouses, houses, senior housing, schools and churches.
The proposal comes at the request of the borough. It issued a request for proposals to contractors. The borough received two bids and is considering a contract with Ward Cove Group.
The contract calls for a five-year lease of the land for $30,000 annually and the option to buy the land during that period. The project would begin with infrastructure, such as roads and utilities. Nothing would be done without the borough’s approval until the property sold.
The contract came up at this weeks’ Borough Assembly meeting. Assembly members indicated that they would be diligent in examining it and its effects on the borough as a whole.
That’s as it should be. At the same time, it’s exciting and encouraging to see possible new development for Ketchikan.
— Ketchikan Daily News,
Nov. 5